Category: nutritional yeast

And we’re back! A long offseason punctuated by a perfect fall day, a new tailgate van and a full menu

Hard at work on the new grill table

of vegan fare. A tailgate breakfast can be a welcome treat and a life saver. Often when making a big meal it can be hours before you eat and no one wants to snack on chips and salsa for breakfast. So that’s why I love to incorporate a grilled breakfast item at the tailgate.

Last year Broccoli Rob made vegan break burritos ahead of time, wrapped them in foil and then tossed them on the hot grill first thing in the morning. They were excellent! That got me thinking about other breakfast items we could make and naturally I landed on the Egg McMuffin.

This recipe combines the best of all worlds: marinated tofu, vegan sausage breakfast patties (there are countless brands to choose from), vegan cheese, whole wheat English muffins and a special blend of sauces. After you eat this sandwich you will ask yourself, “why can’t I eat this every day?” Enjoy!

The tofu should marinate AT LEAST overnight, then the rest of the recipe takes under 10 minutes to execute.

Marinade: Mix the marinade ingredients in a small plastic container with a lid. It will be thick! If it looks dry, cut with a bit of cold water. Once you have a paste, toss in the tofu, close the container, and shake to cover tofu completely. Refrigerate at least 8 hours, and even up to 48!

Tofu butcher is in the house!

Prepare the grill for direct heat.

When grill is hot, give the tofu a final shake in the container, then place in grate along with the sausage patties. Keep most with any excess marinade. Grill the first side about 3-4 minutes. Flip tofu over, and grill another few minutes. When you flip the sausage over, place a piece of vegan cheese on top. Tofu is done when it’s a goldenrod color on both sides and has nice grill marks. When the cheese is melted, pull the sausage patties off the grill.

Meanwhile, prepare the bread to toast. Spread with a little vegan butter if you wish. Toast the bread right after the tofu and sausage is off.

Now once the bread is toasted, spread some of the sriracha maple sauce and vegan mayo on the bread. You can assemble the sandwich and then place it on the grill, or just eat right then and there!

Part of me wishes I had tried poutine before taking the vegan plunge 4 years ago. Then again, the amalgamation of deep fried potatoes, brown gravy and cheese curds probably wouldn’t have sat well with me. I didn’t even know what poutine was until my little brother made several trips north of the border and came back raving about it. Since I had been thinking about veganizing the Canadian specialty for a while, a vegan Super Bowl party in Akron seemed like a perfect time.

What makes this poutine different from all other poutine? Well aside from the fact it’s vegan, made with Field Roast Chao cheese and Vegan Sausage Gravy (see recipe below), it is also a special type of French fry known only to Akronites and Summit County Ohio dwellers as Jo Jo potatoes. Ok, the potato wedge isn’t exactly unique to Akron, Ohio, but I can almost guarantee you that Jo Jo Potatoes have never made their way into vegan poutine before this. And now it’s time to share with the world.

The recipe is not hard to put together. To mimic the deep fried, egg covered Jo Jo’s found in pizza and chicken shops in my hometown, I parboiled potato wedges and coated them in cornstarch, spices and a little olive oil before roasting them. The result is a crispy outside and a moist steamy inside. The poutine is assembled in separate bowls topped with the savory sausage gravy and a sprinkle of fresh sage. You can serve as an app, side or main dish. Enjoy!

Directions

Jo Jo’s: Adjust an oven rack to the lowest position and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Scrub the potatoes and cut them, lengthwise, into 10 to 12 even wedges.Place the sliced potatoes into a large bowl and cover them with boiling water. Let them soak for 10 minutes (aka parboil).Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat. Drain the potatoes and pat them dry thoroughly with a clean tea towel or paper towels. Evenly toss the potatoes with the cornstarch, than add the oil, salt and pepper.Arrange the fries in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and flip them. Continue to bake until the fries are golden and crisp, about another 20 minutes longer. In the last 5 minutes, remove the pans and add the cheese on top. Allow to melt before removing. Time serving so these are hot!Sausage Gravy: Heat a skillet over a medium flame. Add the onions and cook for three minutes, until starting to soften. Add the crumbled sausage and cook for five minutes, until starting to brown. Add the flour and stir well. After two minutes, add the remaining ingredients, whisking well to combine. It will thicken and be ready rather quickly. To serve: Place fries in a bowl or on a plate and sprinkle with cheese. While still warm, pour gravy over fries and cheese. Top with fresh sage and enjoy!

Nothing says tailgating quite like a bitter rivalry and bitter cold. It might have been hard to watch or move your extremities at times, but the food was the highlight of the day. You’ve got to enjoy some quality tailgate grub and talking about the draft for next season.

My tailgate mac and cheese is one of my favorite recipes on this blog. As I discuss in the post, vegan mac and cheese can be quite the adventure. After experimenting for the past few years, I’ve settled on cashew based recipes, whole wheat noodles and lots of added flavor. Unlike dairy mac and cheese, where the milk does all the work, vegan mac requires some creative flare.

On a cold day, you need some warm comfort food like chili. Mac and cheese is not too far behind. So why not combine the two, put it in a grill pan and throw it on the hot fire? This recipe uses quick and simple TVP chili without beans, although a few legumes wouldn’t be a bad idea. Mix it all together the night before and then just bring to the tailgate ready to grill. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 lb whole wheat macaroni

Cheese sauce!

1 1/2 cups raw cashews, soaked in water for at least an hour

2 large onions, diced

1 head garlic, minced

4 cups vegetable broth

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

2 roasted red peppers, skins peeled

3 tablespoons tomato paste, divided

2 teaspoon ground mustard

1 teaspoon turmeric

2 cups TVP

1-15oz can petite diced tomatoes, slightly drained

1 tablespoon chili powder (I used ancho and penzy’s chili 3000)

2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Prep work:

Soak cashews. Cover in cold water and set in the fridge.

Turn oven to broil and roast peppers for a half hour. Let cool and remove the skins

Boil a large pot of water for the macaroni and cook according to package.

The TVP Chili

Meanwhile, in another pot sauté one of the onions for a minutes. Add a couple cloves of garlic and place in a high speed blender.

Drain the cashews and add the to the blender with the vegetable broth, cornstarch, nutritional yeast, peppers, 2 tablespoons of the tomato paste, ground mustard, turmeric and salt and pepper to taste. Blend!

Add the blended cheese mix back to the pot and heat on low until it thickens.

Meanwhile, rehydrate the TVP in 3 cups of hot water.

Sauté the other onion in a large pan. When they turn brown, add the rest of the garlic for 30 seconds.

Toss in the spices and the rehydrated TVP. sauté for another minute or two then toss in the tomatoes and tomato paste. Cook for another couple of minutes.

Toss the TVP mix, the pasta and the cheese sauce. Cover with foil to refrigerate until ready to grill.

Toss directly on a hot grill for about 20-25 minutes. It is done when the cheese is bubbling! A little cripsy on the bottom is good too.

The Browns have been on the road the past two weeks and continue to ride the quarterback roller coaster. While that means I haven’t been down at the muni lot tailgating, I have an amazing appetizer recipe to share with you that works on the grill or at home in the oven. Jalapeño Poppers!

For centuries, vegan’s have tried to replicate cheese. While we have come close, nothing quite gets us there. However, cashews are my favorite creamy substitute, and they do a pretty darn good job providing that velvety texture and flavor. As Tal Ronnen likes to say, cashews are “vessels of creaminess.”

Cashews and nuts are only one third of the vegan creamy equation. The other parts of the trifecta are beans (think hummus or tofu) and avocado (which naturally stands on its own). Nutritional yeast is an important ingredient in the vegan cheese quest. So is turmeric, for those who care about the yellowish appearance. These poppers, while they don’t have avocados, have all the makings of a creamy vegan delight.

This recipe comes together quickly, especially if you have a couple hands on deck. One person can cut open the peppers while the other prepares the filling. Then you can both stuff the peppers and top with bread crumbs. I left a few seeds in to give it a little heat, but it wasn’t overwhelming. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Jalapeño boats

24 large jalapeños, cut in half, membranes and some seeds removed

14 oz. firm tofu, lightly pressed

1/2 cup cashews

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1/4 cup lime juice

2 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. smoked paprika

1 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. ground chipotle

1 tsp. turmeric

1/2 cup bread crumbs

Directions

Cut and remove membranes and some seeds from peppers

Paces remaining ingredients except breadcrumbs into a high speed blender. If not using a vita-mix, soak the cashews for at least an hour and drain.

Scoop the cheese mix into the jalapeño boats. Be generous!

Just before ready to cook, sprinkle on bread crumbs.

Grill: place in grill pan and cover with foil. Cook for about 15 minutes.

Oven: place on baking sheet in oven at 400 degrees. Cook for 20 minutes.

The Browns were dealt a low blow losing hometown hero QB Brian Hoyer last week to a season ending knee injury. Back comes Brandon Weeden and he precedes to make “the worst interception of all time.” All joking aside, this is kind of what we come to expect from the Browns, year after year. So what do we rely on? The tailgate. And it was one of the years best. Perfect fall day and people in good spirits.

I decided to make vegan sausages for the 3rd time. I had a couple practice rounds before trying it out at the tailgate. People tend to grimace when I tell them my sausages are vegan, but honestly do they even know what kind of meat is in a “normal sausage?” Probably better they don’t know. While some don’t want to know how the sausage is made, I’m ready wax poetic about how to make these delectable vegan apple sage sausages.

Fall means apples in Ohio and across the midwest. A trip to an apple orchard with my girlfriend left us with a huge bounty of several varieties of apples. I made sure to get a number that were good for baking and making sauce. By cooking down the apples, I madea plain jane apple sauce (just water and apples)to use in recipes, including the one below.

The technique is similar to the All-Pro Veggie Burgs, where you knead wheat gluten with wet ingredients, wrap in foil and then steam. Afterwards, the sausages can be refrigerated until they are ready to grill. Next time I might use a bit less wheat gluten to make the sausages more moist. The flavor was incredible though and people were impressed. We even topped them off with some polish stew for an authentic taste. Enjoy!

Things have changed for the better in Cleveland. The Indians are in the playoffs and the Browns are tied in first place after a convincing win against their division rival. I’m pretty convinced the karma of the vegan tailgate had something to do with it. We had 5 people eating exclusively vegan at our tailgate this past Sunday, our biggest yet! I got things started off with the phenomenal grilled leek dip that, because of time spent preparing ahead, required little work except grilling and slicing the leeks.

If you’re a reader on this blog, you know I love dips to warm up the belly prior to eating a big meal. This one really was a crowd pleaser and vegans and non-vegans alike really enjoyed it. It comes from Tamasin Noyes, a vegan chef and writer I met earlier this year at the Cleveland Veg Fest. Her cookbook, “Grills Gone Vegan” is one of my favorites. Only next time, I’ll have to triple the recipe!

The grilled leeks are key for this recipe. They kinda come out nowhere and some people had never heard of them before. But they perform well. Kinda like a quarterback starting for the Browns right now! Enjoy!

Put the cashews, water, lemon juice, vinegar and nutritional yeast in a high speed blender and blend until smooth (if not using a Vitamix, be sure to soak the cashews for an hour)

Put in a large tupperware and stir in the Vegenaise, pepper, garlic and spices. (Note: this can be done a day in advance, then all you have to do is bring this to the tailgate and add the grilled leeks)

Grill the leeks, about 5 minutes on each side.

Slice thin and stir into the dip

Serve with crackers

Slicing the grilled leeks

Action shot!

The rest of the tailgate was a lot of fun. Remember, anyone who wants to join can just comment on a post or hit me up on Twitter. Lets beat the record number of vegans for the Lions game on the 13th!

If you would have asked me a couple years ago what a “low country boil” is I would have looked at you dumbfounded. But when my brother went to Alabama to work for 7 months, he came back talking about this common backyard BBQ tradition. I thought, why can’t you veganize it? So we did.

Low Country Boil

The concept behind a low country boil is simple. Take a bunch of seafood, sausages and veggies, add a ton of spices, liquid to cover and bring to a boil on an outdoor heat source. While there are a few common ingredients, such as potatoes and corn, everything else it pretty much left up to you. The spice mix varies, but I’d recommend going heavy on the flavor. Why not? The more complex the flavor profile the better. The key to our boil was the bay leaves. Other folks swear by Old Bay.

The number one takeaway is that its pretty hard to mess this up. No matter what, a low country boil comes out tasting good and serving a crowd. You are supposed to dump it on a picnic table covered in newspaper, but we just didn’t have the capacity to do that. Next time!

I could’ve taken the easy road and purchased my favorite Field Roast Sausages along with all the other ingredients. Instead, I prepared handmade sausages for just the second time and they came out great. Thanks to a bulk vital wheat gluten purchase, I had abundant supplies to create sausages from scratch. The technique is interesting and one I picked up on from one of my favorite vegan chefs Alicia Simpson.

You start out making the sausages like nearly every other seitan recipe, dry ingredients in one bowl, wet in the other, knead together. But here you roll the sausages out, wrap them in foil and steam them for 30-40 minutes before cooking. The result is a plump, juicy vegan sausage loaded with your favorite spices and without any added oil.